“I totally think you should do that,” Stephanie said, gesturing out the window. We were having brunch at Teavolve in Fells Point to celebrate her new baby. I looked at the sign, “Test It. Blog It. Win It,” it said, and bore the Su Casa logo. She explained it was a promotion Su Casa, purveyor of stylish (and gorgeous) furniture, was running in which bloggers could test a piece of furniture and write about it in the hopes of winning it. As soon as I got home, I applied. I had been trolling online retailers and resellers for a new desk. My baby business, Bendetto Creative, will soon be making a couple big purchases, namely a new computer and a new desk. The one we have now is sturdy and in great shape (and available for sale, should you be interested; I’ll give you a bargain). But it’s also enormous and just doesn’t work for not-so-enormous me.Imagine my excitement when I learned one of my other babies, Smarter Ardor, had been chosen to participate! So, today we got to go shopping in a beautiful store I have visited many times, but from which I have never bought anything. We are only just deciding what we like, but we know it’s not the black Ikea furniture we purchased when we started out. We are making efforts to seek out quality pieces now, one by one, as we need additional furniture. We acquired a lovely distressed grey antique buffet late last year that is my current favorite piece of furniture. That is, at least until the desk arrives from Su Casa next week.

We arrived at Su Casa on Bond Street in Fells Point, kids in tow, pre-lunch and post-church this afternoon. We were fully aware that this experience, with a two and a four-year-old, may not be fun. Even we questioned the timing of this outing. However, we were comforted when we saw the kids’ section—a carpeted area in the corner of the store with plenty of soft toys at eye level. The girls squealed with delight and ran to play. Other families with small children came in, and salespeople graciously mentioned the side entrance that features a ramp for easier stroller access. Seeing this welcoming attitude, I relaxed a bit.Several salespeople greeted us, but in such a laidback manner that I wasn’t even sure they were salespeople. Daniel and I have different preferences when it comes to shopping experiences. I don’t really like to be bothered until and unless I know what I want. He prefers the VIP treatment. I’ll fast-forward a bit for you and tell you we both walked away impressed today.I had been instructed to behave like a “normal” shopper; not to give myself away. Normal for me is wandering around like I am lost, then whipping around frequently to ensure my children have not broken anything or gone missing. So that’s what I did. I couldn’t find any desks, so I sought out Jhonelle Clarke, the salesperson who had approached me initially. She showed me to a compact console table-type desk. It was really cute and exactly the type of thing I might have liked prior to starting Bendetto. But now, visions of double monitors and drafts with redlines scattered about crowded the surface of that cute little desk in my mind. So that one was out, and I tried to explain this to Jhonelle.

Image originally featured on jmyko.com.

“How do you feel about glass tops?” She asked. I said I did not prefer them, because, though they look lovely in the store, I figure they would soon be covered with smudged fingerprints in a variety of sizes. I said this, but then I sat down in front of the Vera desk. It was a nice depth (25”)-- not as petite as the console, but not as unmanageable as our current desk. It featured a pull out drawer with room for a keyboard and mouse and divided sections for essentials. At my current desk, there is no way for me to sit in an ergonomically correct fashion, because the desk is higher than my chair will adjust to, and the mouse is too far away. Not only would this desk solve that problem; moving the keyboard to the shelf below would also enable me to keep whatever papers I needed close at hand as well. Daniel and I talked all of this over while Jhonelle dutifully scoured catalogs for additional desk models. She found another, a wood-topped desk in a gorgeous ash finish we both loved. But I had just sold myself on the practicality of the pull out drawer, which this other desk didn’t feature. Plus, the second desk she found was about double the price of the one I was sitting at. And while this is not exactly real life, and we are now all about embracing quality pieces, it would be silly to pretend that cost is not a factor.

We discussed all of this while Jhonelle quietly wrote up my papers, bringing them to me nonchalantly. There was absolutely no pressure at all, which was delightful and not what I had been expecting, quite honestly. When I started thinking about a chair to accompany the desk, and set my sights on the Valencia chair (in a beautiful robin’s egg blue leather), Derek carried it from across the store for me so I could compare two (almost imperceptibly) different styles side by side. Then he didn’t make me feel bad when I decided it would just be the desk today, thank you. (Full disclosure: I have been talking about my love for that chair ever since we left).

When it came time for me to fill out the form for delivery and payment, I presented Jhonelle with my signed Test It. Blog It. Win It. agreement. She smiled. “Did I fool you?” I asked. She said that I had. We proceeded to schedule the shipment, which can happen next week, since the desk is in stock.

So my Su Casa experience, so far, has been quite positive! After we left, happy kids still happy (though now sad to leave the “special store”), we ventured down the street to Brick Oven Pizza (BOP) for lunch. I now anxiously await the delivery of the desk (which will arrive at the convenient day and time of my choosing), and when I close my eyes I still see that robin’s egg blue chair. Maybe we’ll be back sooner than planned.

About Me

Christina | Virginia BeachPsuedo Yankee, city-loving former working mom of four finds herself home with the kids and transplanted to the somewhat Southern suburbs. Finding her feet while still attempting to harness the power of the passion of her youth for useful good.